Turning the Tide
by QueenOfTheHobbits
Summary: Pvt. Evelyn Dawson was a member of the Nurse Corps hoping to aid in anyway shape or form, when she's assigned to Capt. Miller and his men, she'll follow them through hell and high water, save lives and lose friends...and perhaps find a soul mate in her fellow soldier. OC/Caparzo [Caparzo doesn't die] Rated M just incase


**Disclaimer/Author Note: I don't own Saving Private Ryan nor do I own the characters etc. This is purely fan made and for entertainment purposes only, no money is being made by this story. I do not mean/wish to harm the Saving Private Ryan Franchise. Nor do I wish any disrespect to soldiers of World War 2, this is purely fictional as i've said and i'll try my hardest to maintain a decent level of historical accuracy as such, any exaggerations or inaccuracies are for the story line and such. **

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_**What can I say? I loved Caparzo in the movie...and he died...so I figured i'd try my hand at a fanfiction where he doesn't die and has a bit of romance; not ridiculous or fast, just a slow progression, I mean they are in war...it's sort of inconvenient. SO if you want quick romance this isn't the story for you, if you don't mind seeing the relationship build throughout the story then enjoy!**___

_**I also don't know how often i'll be updating this story but i'll make sure to finish it eventually, it's just that this year is my exam year so i'll be busy a lot of the time, but have patience with me xD**_

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_ A certain German Chancellor has lost his head,  
He's going to get a headache somewhere else instead!  
And he will be retiring very soon,  
To join a certain Kaiser down in doom!_

Adolf, you've bitten off much more than you can chew;  
Come on, hold your hand out, we're all fed up with you, gor blimey!  
Adolf, you toddle off, and all your Nazis too!  
Or you may get something to remind you of the old red white and blue! 

_Adolf by Ambrose and his orchestra 1939_

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"Dawson, we've got another one" My superior pointed to the far side of the tent from where I stood; sat on a make-shift cot that was pushed aside, was a young man of perhaps 20. His fatigues were sopping wet and stained with a mixture of blood and mud, while he held a hand to his side, his youthful features scrunched into a look of pain making him seem far older than his years…they always do…I've been a field nurse for 5 years, 2 of which were basic training, and in all that time it still surprises me the amount of young men who end up in this dreadful place…war wasn't a place for any man let alone one so young and filled with life….not that I could truly speak I was 23 having joined at the age of 18 at the outbreak of war. England was in such a state at the time, many people including my mother and father remembered the Great War and what devastation it had caused…the loss of a generation some said, but despite this I had felt the need to help having no other career in mind other than that of a housewife…and I dare say I'm far too stubborn for that as of yet.

On closer inspection the young man, who I had been informed was called Pvt. Jones, had a bullet stuck in his rib after being shot, he was lucky it had hit his rib and not any of his vital organs but not so lucky with the fact that I had to practically open him up to get the bloody thing out…but now I guess he has a souvenir from his time at Omaha Beach...and I had more blood on my overalls than there was before not that it really made much difference with the amount of men being brought in there were hardly enough nurses and medics to deal with it all and I had found myself constantly on my feet flitting from man to man, Private to Captain. It wasn't until later after the rush of patients had been dealt with and the rest of the medical staff and I were cleaning up what we could that I was allowed a rest with a tin can of tea that we boiled over a fire. This was about 3 days after D-Day…heck, it took us about 1 day just to get the medical outpost set up and then the first day or so we had men coming in on makeshift stretchers with one less leg than they should have and ten more bullets than need be.

"Nurse Dawson!" I stood from my seat on an unused cot and looked with green eyes towards the calling of my name to see Colonel Anderson approaching me with a Captain. I wasn't so surprised that he knew my name after all he was the one who authorised my transfer from the British Nurse Corps to that of the American Army Nurse Corps…it had been hard to get a transfer but the British Nurse Corps didn't allow me the closeness to battle and so I felt somewhat useless, I blame my father for that; he was a Medic in the Great War and I've idolised him from the day I could talk.

"It's Private actually, Sir…Nurse fells somehow belittling" I expected to be berated for speaking out of turn to my superior but merely received a nod of the head and a slight upturn of the lip. It had been a problem from the day I enlisted, my temper that is, I had always been known for speaking out of turn more than a lady should…but then back in my little village of Southwick (Suth-uck) I wasn't really considered a lady, I was the Parish Doctor's daughter who had a fondness for getting into trouble…or so it had been said.

"Captain Miller, I want Private Dawson to accompany you and your men, she's one of the best …treat her like any one of your men and she'll respond in kind, Private Dawson you are now part of Charlie company, I have faith in your abilities" When I had woken that morning the last thing I had expected was to be told I was actually going out into the field…I'm pretty sure my shock showed on my features; it's not every day I get asked to join a company of men into a more dangerous situation than normal, not that I minded, it was rather relieving to get away from the aid station…what with Lydia breathing down my neck and an inability to get a rest every now and again.

"But-" I watched the Captain, I was aware of his current thoughts… I'm a woman and in many eyes I should be at home with a couple of kids waiting for my husband (that's nonexistent) to return from a war, instead I was stood in Normandy with blood stained fatigues and uncombed dark hair that was curling in an unspeakable manner all the while sticking my hands in the wounds of men and every so often picking up a gun…it wasn't seen as acceptable by many and so the Captain saw me as a burden rather than an asset…not that I can blame him, most woman would be, I mean half the nurses here are only nurses because of the men, they joined with the hopes of a bit of flirting and a few cheeky relationships on the side. While I joined to aid people and make my father proud.

"Don't argue with me Miller! Get your stuff, Dawson" Colonel had always been like that, doesn't take no for an answer…he's like a terrier, once he gets his teeth stuck into something he won't let go until he succeeds at it. In this case it was his will for me to go with Captain Miller and it didn't matter what he had to say I would still be assigned to him.

"Righty O', Sir" I quickly scurried over to the far corner of the tent grabbing my helmet, an old M1 that I had been given years back and my pack. As I turned around I saw Captain Miller stood there watching me, analysing…hell, I felt like I was back at boot camp on parade being inspected from head to toe…so I stood a little straighter, it seemed he had made up his mind about me and beckoned me over…figured I'd either grow on him or he'd hate me for the rest of his days…or mine, depends who dies first.

"Come on, Private" I felt like a dog following after him through the crowds of soldiers, being whistled and hollered at all the while trying to avoid being engulfed by the crowds, I was only 5ft 2, it didn't give me much ground to stand on and I was hardly an imposing figure. I watched Sergeant Horvath…I think his name was join the Captain and I, but I hardly listened…I gathered what was going on from what I did here; we were going to get some kid whose 3 brothers had died, it was a piss take to be honest, I'd met tones of men whose brothers had died none of them got to go home, none of them had a whole squad go searching for them...call me bitter but I didn't see the point in risking the lives of a whole squad for one guy…

" Hey! What's with the broad!?" I looked up to see the soldier, Reiben I think, hollering in my direction as we neared. The group he sat with looked like any other group of soldiers, well worn and smoking from their pack of luckies. One caught my eye for a brief moment before I turned my attention back to Reiben.

"Don't call be bloody broad!" I was well aware I had let my temper rise but I'd be dead before I let someone call me a broad as if I wasn't worth a penny. He'd regret it if he ended up getting shot, I'd make every minute as painful as possible…of course I wouldn't let him die, but letting him suffer wouldn't be such a bad thing, right?

"Hey! Dawson calm down, Reiben she's not just some broad, she's our field nurse I'd suggest you take that into consideration!" I had multiple eyes on me, one pissed off Captain to my right and a pissed off Private in front of me, acting like some holier than thou idiot…he'd definitely have a few more holes in him in a minute…

"She's a fuckin' limey [1] broad, sir" At that I went for him, it took both the Sergeant and the Captain to keep me in one spot; where does he get off calling me things? I know I shouldn't get so riled…it's what he wants but he has some bloody nerve! 

"Very observant aren't you? Yes, I'm a woman, yes I'm English, and yes I can kill you with an overdose of morphine if you keep this up!"

"Fuckin' piss take, what do we need with a broad?" I watched him stand up, dark eyes glaring at me and the starting of a beard; I wasn't sure if we'd ever get along with his words but…then since when did I need to associate with some yank[2] once this is all over? I could forget about him and go back to England at the end of this war…go back to the green rolling hills and my Ma's homemade pie…

"Hey, Reiben, lay off…didn't your mother ever teach you something about manners" I watched the bald young man to Reiben's right defend me; he was tall by the looks of things, definitely strong, dark eyes, a cigarette in one hand and the other resting against his knee…overall an attractive man and I was certainly grateful for a little back up.

"Shut up, Caparzo!" I watch him turn on his fellow Private, I'd already stored his short temper away for future notice…we were sure to get in more fights…he's got a hot temper and so have I, not that I wanted to fight anybody but he just seemed to get under my skin and I'd only known him for 10 minutes or so!

"All of you shut the hell up! Reiben whether you like it or not she's part of this company now, she is coming with us and we are going to get some snot nosed kid back for his parents so sit the fuck back down and listen" I watched Reiben fall back to his earlier seated position and sat down on top of my pack, knowing full well that besides the glares we exchanged the most import thing that was going on was the assignment brief…and sure as a day it wouldn't go down well with this mish-mashed group of soldiers.

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[1] Limey- term for a British/English person relating to the limes that the Royal Navy ate to ward off scurvy.

[2] Yank- British colloquialism for an American

**Please review, i'd love to hear what you think! :)**


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